Despite playing most of the match with only 10 men, FC Tokyo showed some guts and spirit as they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with city rivals Tokyo Verdy in the first top-flight Tokyo Derby in 16 years at the Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday.
No love were lost in this J.League 1 clash between two of Tokyo's finest football teams, both sharing the Ajinomoto Stadium as their home ground. This time out, it was newly-promoted Verdy who acted as hosts, with FC Tokyo being designated as the away team.
Tomoya Miki gave Verdy the lead with a 28th minute penalty, before the men in green gained full control of the proceedings with Itsuki Someno's strike only six minutes later.
Verdy's grip on the match became even tighter two minutes before half-time, after FC Tokyo's Soma Anzai was sent-off following a second yellow card.
However, FC Tokyo had Union Berlin loanee Keita Endo to thank, as his goal in the 68th minute gave the Gasmen some glimmer of hope. Endo's second in the fourth minute of injury time ensures that the spoils would be shared between the two sides from the capital.
Following this weekend's J1 results, FC Tokyo sat in 9th place with 12 points from eight games. Verdy, on the other hand, are 15th with eight points to their name.
